Game Changer
by julyblues
Summary: Beca turned to Jesse on her spot by the edge of the roof, one side of her mouth quirked upwards in a dopey half smile. "Is this big enough to be cool?" she asked, before looking down at her backyard in disbelief. Jesse just stood there, his mouth slowly beginning to form a grin as he stared at the scene below them, childlike wonder gleaming in his eyes. "Game changer." Bechloe


**A/N:** **Thought I** **'** **d give this Bechloe thing a go, since their chemistry in the movies is off the charts.**

 **This story is based on the movie** _ **Project X.**_ **I was watching it and saw that Alexis Knapp is in it, and** **…** **you know the rest.**

 **Also, the full movie of** _ **Project X**_ **is on YouTube. I would fully recommend it.**

 **Songs to listen to while reading this: (** **This is important - reading this with music and without music is completely different. I would only start the music when you get to the bit where the party starts, though.)**

 **In this order too, okay. That** **'** **s extremely important. I** **'** **m wearing a very serious expression as I** **'** **m typing this:**

 **Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Heads Will Roll (A-Trak Remix)**

 **Kid Cudi - Pursuit of Happiness (Project X)**

 **The Kills - Cheap and Cheerful (Sebastian Remix)**

 **Pretty Girls (Benny Benassi Remix)**

 **This story contains** **alcohol consumption** **,** **sex** **(of sorts, I guess. It gets close, okay? Beca is a gentlewoman), some** **Steca** **(crucial for the plot, honestly),** **drug consumption** **and** **bad language** **. Lots and lots of that one. Let** **'** **s just say that this story is very strongly rated M.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own** _ **Project X, Pitch Perfect**_ **or any of the songs listed above.**

* * *

 **GAME CHANGER**

Sunlight beaming through the gap in the curtains was what woke Beca Mitchell on the morning of her eighteenth birthday. The path of the light made its way straight for Beca's face, making her squint and shield her eyes. She groaned, whipping the pillow from under her head and shoving it onto her face. She was _not_ ready to face the day ahead of her.

Most people would think that your birthday is something to look forward to, and for Beca, it usually is. But that day, she was freaking out. And why was she freaking out? One reason: Jesse Swanson.

Jesse moved to Miami a year ago from New York, and quickly befriended Beca, much to her dismay. The boy spent the first two months of his time in Miami forcing his friendship on her; he would just come up to her at her locker and talk to her about stuff Beca really couldn't have cared less about, and would invite himself over to her house to watch movies. Beca, not without trying, really couldn't figure out why this guy wanted to spend time with her so badly; she wasn't exactly the most approachable person in the school, and nowhere near the friendliest. After a while of Beca trying to show Jesse how socially-inept she was, she begrudgingly decided to accept Jesse's attempts at friendship, and she soon learned that he was actually a great guy, albeit a little bit annoying. Half of the time he spent with Beca, he spoke constantly about how amazing Queens was and how wild it could be at night, and the other half he complained about how painfully boring life in Miami was.

Three months previously, when he found out that Beca's eighteenth birthday was nearing, Jesse had started seriously planning her birthday bash. It started off as just a few notes and lists on a couple of sheets of paper, and nothing Beca found too stressful; just a few of her friends coming over for some Chinese food, movies and a few beers, and a playlist full of her own mashups and remixes. Beca could deal with that. That wasn't the problem.

Once Jesse discovered that Beca's parents were going to be absent the weekend of Beca's birthday because Sheila had a conference to go to in Vegas, he flipped. A few things on the list for things to do and buy for Beca's birthday turned into an entire whiteboard covered in notes - seriously, that boy had _connections_ \- and as much as Beca tried to shut that idea down, her new friend wasn't having any of it.

Beca really hoped the neighbours were cool with loud music and rowdy teenagers.

Beca staggered out of bed and stripped herself of her pyjamas, throwing the shower doors open and stepping inside before turning it on, sighing at the sensation of the warm water slowly trickling over the top of her head. She was feeling more tense than she ever had in her life, her muscles locking together, the mere thought of the party that night sending a shooting pain to her head. Whenever she so much as suggested that she could have a smaller gathering on her birthday, Jesse always rejected it. He wanted up ' _up his street cred_ ' since it had apparently been ruined by his hanging out with Beca and Cynthia Rose. Jesse would constantly share stories of his many wild nights in Queens, and Beca would admit that although it did sound very fun to be a part of, she just didn't think having a party like that was realistic for her. She couldn't stop thinking about how she was going to convince Jesse to cancel all the plans he had for the night, what she'd say to her parents if they ever found out about this thing, what would happen if she got drunk and did something embarrassing in front of Chloe.

Chloe.

Just thinking about her made Beca frown, which she instantly felt guilty for. Beca had known Chloe Beale since the first grade. They were instantly 'fast friends', as Chloe had put it years later, but since they went into high school, they didn't hang out as much. Of course, they were still close, but they went from hanging out every other day to hanging out every other week. In recent months, they had been fighting a lot due to the lack of proximity, and as much as it killed Beca to be on bad terms with her friend, she felt it was for the best.

In Beca's opinion, the problems they've been having in their friendship was all her doing, but she thought it was better this way. Keeping her feelings for Chloe under control would be easier if they saw less of each other.

Beca's thoughts were very rudely interrupted by the shower door being flung open and an extremely unwanted, male presence making itself known, making Beca yelp in surprise. "Morning, birthday girl," Jesse laughed, shielding his eyes. "Make sure to get all the excess shampoo out of your hair. You want it being in top form for tonight."

"Get the fuck out, dude," Beca yelled, grabbing her loofa and throwing it in Jesse's direction.

Jesse rowdily moved himself back into Beca's bedroom and leapt onto the bed, continuing talking as Beca finished up in the shower. "I know we have school today and shit, but I have a lot of business to take care of today, BM, if you know what I mean."

Beca walked back into her room in a bathrobe, a towel on her head and a scowl on her face. "How could I not know what you mean? You've only talked about it everyday for two fucking months."

Jesse rolled his eyes. "What I'm asking is, can you cover for me in class today? I have a lot of phone calls to make, which means skipping about five periods in total."

"I'm not covering for you on _anything_." Beca bent her head down and started rubbing her hair vigorously with the towel, before searching her desk drawers for her hairbrush.

Jesse stood up, making his way over beside Beca and looking at her with pleading eyes. "Come on, Becs. These phone calls are for _you_. This party is for _you_."

"Really?" she shot back, rolling her eyes. "Because I don't remember asking for it. In fact, I've requested multiple times for it _not_ to happen."

"This is why I'm doing it!" he shouted, gesturing at Beca with his arms outstretched dramatically.

"I don't follow."

Jesse sighed, sitting back down on the edge of Beca's bed. "Bec, you're so stressed and tense. Like, I've never met anyone more uptight than you. Maybe except Posen."

Beca turned to look at her friend incredulously, her wet hair dripping onto the carpet. "And you think destroying my house and my parent's trust for me is going to help me relax?"

" _No_." Jesse smiled a little bit, breaking eye contact with her. "You just really, _really_ need to get laid."

"I will not hear this again." Beca frowned, stomping over to her closet to pick out some clothes. "I do not need to have sex with some randy and contract chlamydia just to destress myself."

Jesse shrugged. "Well, it would certainly take the edge off you for an hour or so, at least."

Beca's name being called from downstairs interrupted their heated debate, and she held a finger up in the air to signal the end of this conversation. "That important thought will have to held for the moment."

"I thought you said your parents would be gone by seven," he whispered, grabbing Beca's hand as they walked towards the door.

Beca shrugged briefly, looking away from her friend before doing a double-take, her face morphing with shock. "Did you… break into my house?"

"I learned how to pick locks," Jesse smirked, before getting lost in his thoughts, his eyes trailing up towards the ceiling in thought. "At a party, funnily enough."

The sound of Beca's father calling her again made Jesse sigh and gesture towards the door. "We are _not_ done here," he warned, pointing at Beca, who rolled her eyes and started walking down the stairs.

Dr Mitchell and Sheila waited by the end of the stairs, smiling up at the pair. Dr Mitchell's grin comically dropped once he noticed Jesse. "Oh, I didn't hear you come in, Jesse," Sheila said, giving him a friendly wave.

"I just had to wish my very special friend here a happy eighteenth," he replied, patting Beca's head vigorously, who squirmed away from him, shoving him away from her.

Dr Mitchell moved to the end of the stairs and held two fifty dollar notes to Beca, who inspected them suspiciously. "Here's money for takeout and a few beers. I'm not an idiot, and I know you'll have friends over, but please keep the noise to a minimum. Our neighbours have a newborn."

Beca nodded, guilt consuming her. "Yeah, of course."

"I want to come home to an immaculate house, Beca. If you get in the pool or hot tub, please don't leave wet towels everywhere like you usually do, okay? You know how to use the washing machine."

"Sure, no problem." She leaned forward and hugged her father and stepmother. "Have fun, you guys."

Dr Mitchell gave her a stern look when he pulled back, pointing a long finger at her. "I mean it, Beca. Five people here max, and only two beers each. I don't want anyone getting drunk and breaking anything. And you already know this, but seriously: _nobody_ touches my car, alright?"

"Yeah dad, I know." Beca rolled her eyes slightly at her father's mention of his car. That thing was like a second child to him.

Dr Mitchell continued. "And all my phone calls are to be answered, okay? Every single one." He pressed a kiss to Beca's temple, before picking up his suitcase. "We better get on the road. Happy birthday, honey. Be safe." He and Sheila strode towards the door and slammed it shut after waving, leaving Beca staring at it forlornly, willing for them to come back.

Jesse broke the eerie silence. "Hello to you too, Mr Mitchell."

"It's actually _Dr_ Mitchell," Beca smirked, making her way upstairs so she could get changed.

Her friend followed her, taking the steps two at a time. "I'm serious, Becs. I think your dad might hate me."

"Is that a shock to you? He sees how bad of an influence you are."

"I'm just not used to people not liking me," he shrugged, sitting in Beca's desk chair, spinning around in it. "Everyone likes The Swanson."

Beca laughed sarcastically from where she clothed herself behind the closet door. "I'm surprised someone who calls himself 'The Swanson' doesn't get laid more often."

"I know, right?" Jesse gasped. He watched as Beca stepped out from the closet, and he took in Beca's attire, raising an eyebrow as he looked her up and down. "Are you really wearing that today?"

Beca looked down at her clothes quizzically. "It's a white t-shirt and jeans. What could be wrong with that?"

"Thought you might want to dress a little sexier, given what day it is."

Beca rolled her eyes for what felt like the fiftieth time that morning. "And what day will that be?" she asked, refusing to humour her friend.

"The day you finally have sex with Stacie and make us cool," Jesse beamed, delighted at the look on Beca's face.

Beca had heard this countless times over the past few months, but still got annoyed whenever he brought it up. "I will not sleep with Stacie," she corrected. "Tonight or ever."

Jesse stood up, groaning. "Come _on_ , Beca. Picture it; the party's going really well, you're sufficiently drunk, I'm sufficiently drunk, Stacie actually _shows up_ , she's _also_ sufficiently drunk, you're feeling a buzz from being the centre of a raging party, you two go upstairs and do the deed, and then I will do my thing and spread the word, and the next day we'll be so cool, we'll have to be defrosted." He seemed to be really proud of his last line, smiling smugly at his friend.

Beca stood with her mouth hanging open, staring at the idiot in front of her. "Okay," she started slowly. "First of all, you're a fucking weirdo. Second of all, what makes you think that would even be a possibility?"

Jesse shrugged his shoulders, looking smug. "Who knows? Anything can happen tonight." He poked at Beca's chest. "This is your night."

Beca glared at him, picking her backpack up from the ground, where it leaned against her bed. "It sounds a little to me like this is more your night than mine. You just want to get cool out of this, you're not even thinking about the trouble I could get in."

"It's all cool, don't worry about it. I already have everything sorted out, tonight will run smoothly." The two of them moved towards the door and onto the landing, Beca taking the lead and shoving past her friend on the stairs, before heading into the kitchen.

"I thought you had all those phone calls to make during school," she remarked, catching him off guard as she opened the fridge and put her lunch in her bag.

Jesse patted Beca's back. "I may have to sort a few things out for tonight: security guards and whatnot."

"There's going to be security?" Beca asked, her eyebrow raised, an incredulous laugh escaping briefly. "I didn't realise you were a celebrity as well as an idiot."

He ignored her last comment, smirking at her, and hitting his chest with his palms. "Am I good, or am I good?"

"You seem to be getting more pleasure out of this than me," Beca commented, grabbing her set of keys from the kitchen island and walking into the hall, Jesse hot on her heels. "Maybe you're the one who should sleep with Stacie, since you care so much about becoming cool out of this."

Jesse shook his head sadly, with an embarrassed expression on his face. "I'm afraid the last and only time I tried to talk to her, the words she uttered were ' _never in a million years_ ' and I hadn't even opened my mouth yet."

"What about CR?" Beca suggested, shutting the front door behind her and setting down the path. "Pretty sure she's been with more girls than you have."

"Doubt it," Jesse grumbled, adjusting the straps of his bag on his shoulders self consciously. "And also, Stacie's a little bit scared of her. CR's always touching her in PE. Do you not remember when CR and Stacie were on different teams for volleyball, and CR _still_ managed to grope her throughout the whole game?"

Beca laughed, tipping her head back. "No, but I do recall Stacie coming up to me after one class and saying ' _Your friend_ _'_ _s a fucking perv_ '. I thought she was talking about you. Thought you had managed to finally strike up a conversation with someone cool."

Like lightening, Jesse stuck his arm out in front of Beca, blocking her from walking any further. "Wait, Stacie actually _talked_ to you before?"

Beca gave him an exasperated expression, before pushing his arm down and trudging forward. "Uh, yeah? We sit beside each other in Bio, of course I talk to her."

"Fuck yeah," Jesse shouted, fist pumping. Suddenly realising that Beca hadn't stopped walking to wait for him to finish his antics, he jogged after her, no intention of letting this go. "Do you not realise how in you are, man?"

Beca felt uncomfortable straight away, and regretted saying anything. "I'm not sure if I want to be _in_ with Stacie, Jess."

"Why the hell not?"

"I don't know, dude," she lied, her mind immediately racing to thoughts of Chloe. "She's hot and all, but I just don't want to."

Jesse sighed and paused, before touching Beca's forearm softly, causing her to stop in her tracks. "Listen. I know it seems like a big deal now, but it'll all be over by tomorrow, and it'll only be like three minutes of your life for like, eight months of coolness."

Beca grumbled, her eyebrows raising higher on her forehead. "Three minutes?"

"Well, let's be real," he shrugged. "You won't last longer than that and Stacie will be so unimpressed and embarrassed for you that she won't let you get her off."

"You're impossible," she replied, trying to conceal her smile as they walked up the school's pathway. "Jess, I know you're going to be doing a lot of sorting out and making a lot of calls for tonight but please, not too many people."

The boy held his hands out in defence. "Of course not, man."

"No more than thirty."

Jesse's eyes bulged out of his head, waving his hands about wildly. "Okay, no fucking way," he denied, shaking his head as they burst through the school's main doors. "Beca, you have to give me something to work with here. We are not going have that legendary party that makes us big names in this school if there's only thirty people there." He spotted Cynthia Rose by her locker, who waved as she walked closer, swinging her backpack onto one shoulder. "CR, talk some sense into Beca."

CR looked confused for a minute, before realisation dawned on her. "You're not bitching out, are you, Lil' B?"

"Not wanting my house to get trashed isn't 'bitching out'," Beca said, making an effort to keep her voice low so nobody passing could hear, before looking back at Jesse. "I don't see why you're using my birthday as a way to finally be allowed to sit at the 'cool table'."

"My parents are always home," Jesse shot back matter-of-factly. "They're practically hermits, you know this."

CR looked sadly at Beca. "I usually do agree with you, man, but I've been looking forward to this for weeks. It's the only thing that's gotten me through school this semester."

Beca stalked over to her locker, typing in the combination angrily and flinging the door open. "Then wait for your birthday and throw your own fucking party. I will not have my house wrecked and my parents livid just to make your last eight months of high school easier."

"Then we can keep it to the backyard, Becs," Jesse begged, manoeuvring around the locker door so he could see his friend. "Your backyard is massive, I'm sure we can easily fit a hundred people out there, and we could keep security in the house to make sure nobody gets in. It will all be under control, I promise you." At Beca's uncertain expression, his begging and whining turned up a notch. "Beca, _please_. We need a game changer, and this is it. This could be our game changer."

Beca sighed and turned to face the duo. The look on Jesse and CR's face was a dead giveaway that they really felt this needed to happen, and after all, Jesse had put so much effort into it. "Fine," Beca breathed, ignoring Jesse's hushed ' _yes!_ '. "But only in the backyard, and no more than fifty people. Just… big enough to be cool."

"You got it boss." Jesse's eye caught something else over Beca's shoulder, making him noticeably distracted, and Beca turned around to see a flash of red hair in the crowd walking in their direction. "Ginger's on her way over to you, so that's me gone. Make sure to tell her about the party, yeah?"

Beca nodded, her mind already drifting from the night ahead of her. "Yeah, sure. See you guys later."

"So long, Lil' B," CR smiled, patting her on the arm as she went to move away.

Beca watched Jesse and CR walk away from her but it wasn't long before she heard the soft, familiar _hey, Beca_ behind her, and she turned around, a smile already in place. "Morning."

Suddenly she's no longer on the ground, but wrapped up in Chloe's arms, her senses being bombarded with the redhead. It had been a while since they had hugged properly, but before Beca started to actually enjoy it, she was being placed back on the ground again. "I heard it's someone's eighteenth birthday today," Chloe smirked.

"Oh, someone I know?" Beca replied, barely able to stop the grin from spreading across her face.

Chloe waved her off. "Nah, doubt you've heard of her, just some loser in our grade." She chuckled when Beca lurched forward to playfully punch her shoulder.

"I hate you."

"Yeah, well, you won't hate me later tonight." Chloe leaned one shoulder against the lockers, twisting so her backpack swung behind her. "I have a kind-of-awesome present for you."

"You didn't have to." Beca really tried, but couldn't help but let her special smile take over her face, a grin reserved specifically for Chloe. It was so typical of the redhead - she was so generous, always trying to make people feel good. That, and she was a pretty amazing gift getter, so Beca was rather intrigued.

"I wanted to, though," Chloe replied, giving her a reassuring smile. "Think of it as a symbol of over eleven years of friendship. I'll bring it around later tonight."

Beca was momentarily distracted by Chloe's thoughtfulness, so much so that she almost forgot to mention the party. "Oh, there's something else I should mention. Jesse is apparently throwing me this pretty kick ass party tonight that I'm one hundred percent against but have no say in. You should come, I mean, you've probably heard about it already cos Jesse's been making phone calls and arrangements and-"

"No, I've heard nothing about it actually," Chloe replied, an eyebrow raising. "But of course I'll come, it sounds fun. How did you manage to get your parents on board with this?"

Beca said nothing, but her face must have changed because Chloe immediately gasped, before laughing loudly. "Oh, wow," she giggled, moving close enough to Beca to make her gulp. "Can I please be there for when they find out?"

"You wouldn't want to be," Beca breathed, exhaling loudly as she removed a book from her locker and stuffed it in her bag. "Besides, Jesse promised it'll be only fifty people, absolute max. Plus, it's being kept to the backyard. I'll spend all of tomorrow cleaning the yard up, it'll be like nothing happened."

"I'll help you if it's too bad," Chloe offered, smiling sweetly. "Then I'll have you all to myself. I presume if this party is as exciting as it sounds, the birthday girl won't have much time for me tonight."

Beca smiled at the redhead sarcastically. "I always have time for you, m'dear." They shared a quiet laugh but before Beca knew it, they were plunged into an inevitable, tension filled silence. The noticeable shift in the atmosphere had an effect on the smaller of the two, and it only then truly dawned on Beca how much of a bad friend she had been to Chloe recently. Her heart broke at the way Chloe tried to smile when Beca said that, but looked down, averting her eyes. "Hey," she soothed, tilting her head downwards to catch Chloe's eyes. "I promise, I'll see a lot of you tonight, okay? I know you can't handle your liquor, and you'll need someone to take care of you, right?"

Chloe's face then broke out in a grin, nodding her head slowly. "Sure, Becs," she muttered, starting to walk backwards. "I have Calc now. I'll see you at lunch."

Beca watched with a sad smile as Chloe started off down the hall. She couldn't help but feel like Chloe always walked away from a conversation with her disappointed in some way. The truth was, she pretty much has had feelings for her friend since they were fourteen. At the time, she had brushed it off as just really enjoying Chloe's company, but deep down, she knew it was a different feeling to before. She would never tell her, but seeing Chloe hook up with all these guys at parties over the years hurt her in ways she couldn't have even imagined. After seeing Chloe strolling down the school hallway hand in hand with Tom Harrington one day during freshman year, Beca has decided that seeing less of her friend wouldn't be a bad idea. She didn't stop to think about how much it would hurt Chloe, but she figured she was in too deep to stop at this point. It didn't make it any easier on her, though.

Closing her locker gently, Beca zipped her backpack up, slung it over her shoulder and set off to class.

* * *

Entering the bathroom, Beca placed her bag on the floor in the corner and walked over to the sinks, pumping some soap into her hands. She couldn't stop thinking about that night and what it had in store for her, anxiety and panic building up slowly within her each and every minute, but a familiar voice in one of the cubicles interrupted her thoughts.

"Yes, there might be a deal on two DJs for the price of one, but the birthday girl herself is quite skilled in the disk jockeying department and might want to do it for an hour or two. If she's not too wasted, that is."

Beca couldn't believe her ears, her mouth dropping open, her jaw slack. The first thing that was baffling her was that Jesse was in the female bathrooms, which almost made her snort. She also briefly wondered if Jesse really had these connections, or if he was just really willing to blow his money on a party that _might_ make them cool. Beca turned off the faucet and quietly made her way over to the cubicle, pressing her ear to the door. "Dax, remember that favour I did for you a few weeks back? Yeah, well I need you to return that favour now and give me two DJs, one for only half the night, at half price. Each." There was a pause, and Beca could hear him take a deep, and probably annoyed, breath. "Well, that all depends on whether the police shut it down, doesn't it? Fine, fine. Let's say three hours, okay?"

Beca decided this was the time to knock on the door politely, shaking her head.

"There's, like, no one here, use one of the other cubicles, this one is occupado."

"That's alright," Beca replied, leaning one shoulder against the door of the cubicle beside it, studying her nails. "I can wait."

There was a long pause, before a whispered _I_ _'_ _m going to have to call you back_ was heard. Jesse then emerged from the cubicle, not looking guilty at all. "Hey, bud."

"Whether the police shut it down?" Beca whispered angrily, walking right up to her friend so she was in his face. "If the police even so much as end up near my house, I am in such deep shit, Jess. There will be no police at all tonight, or there won't be a party for them to shut down. Understand?"

Jesse sighed loudly, pocketing his phone. "Can you not just loosen up and have a little fun? So what, your parents find out you have a little party and get a little wasted. It'll be worth it for the fun night you'll have."

"You don't know that," she retorted, going back over to the sink to finish washing her hands. "Also, I heard literally everyone's phones go off in my class. Including Stacie's. Please don't tell me it was you telling them about the party."

Jesse held his hands up in defence. "Hey, I'm just doing my job as a good party organiser."

"I didn't _ask_ for a party organiser. Hell, I didn't even ask for a party." She paused, breaking the tension to smirk at her friend. "Why are you in the girl's bathrooms anyway?"

Jesse looked confused. "You've been at this school like two years longer than I have, and you didn't know that these bathrooms are _always_ deserted during third period? None of the classrooms around here are in use right now. I choose to make all my business calls in here every Friday." He raised an eyebrow at her. "Why are you in here? Your English class is across the campus."

Beca scowled at him in the mirror. "I've been getting stares all morning because of your fucking mass text. I didn't want to get ambushed with questions in the bathroom." She then raised an amused eyebrow at him. "And it's a little weird that you know my schedule."

Jesse placed his hands on Beca's shoulders, bearing down in a way that was most likely meant to be soothing, but only irritated her further. "Relax, BM, it's all under control. I did send everyone in the grade the text, but you wouldn't want people to feel left out, right?"

Beca placed her wet hand on her forehead, closing her eyes. "There are nearly two hundred people in our grade, Jesse."

"They definitely won't all show," he reassured. "Lots of people make plans for Friday nights. If I only invited fifty, half of them wouldn't have come, Becs."

Beca supposed her friend had a point, which led her to worry about something else entirely. "What… what if no one shows, Jess? That would almost be worse than everyone showing."

" _Now_ you're worrying about what people think," he laughed, dropping his hands from Beca's shoulders. "Don't worry about it; a Swanson Party is always a one hell of a party."

"I suppose you already have someone at the ready to bring gallons of vodka and beer?" Beca asked, chuckling as she moved over to where the hand driers were.

Jesse smiled smugly, putting a hand on his chest in mock pride. "You know me so well." With that, he turned and walked out the door, leaving Beca to stare at the spot he was once standing in.

* * *

"What's up, my lovely females?" Jesse greeted, taking his seat at the lunch table with CR, Fat Amy and Chloe sitting around him.

Fat Amy looked up from her pudding cup with a toothy smile. "What's crackin'? Can't wait for tonight."

"Yeah, about that," he started, unzipping his backpack to remove his lunch. "Try not to mention it too much around Becs today, she's feeling pretty nervous about it."

Chloe furrowed her eyebrows. "Why? The way she was describing it didn't seem too bad."

"She's underselling it like a motherfucker," he replied, ripping a bite out of his sandwich. "I'm telling you, Chlo, this will probably be the most epic party in the history of Barden."

"Oh, right," she teased. "You and your 'connections'."

Jesse shook his head at her, shrugging. "Let's see how smart that pretty mouth of yours is later tonight when you're doing a body shot off the quarterback's stomach." He frowned slightly, noticing his best friend's absence for the first time since he sat down. "Where is Beca anyway?" His eyes searched the entire cafeteria until his eyes landed on her, and immediately a smug smile formed on his lips. "Well, would you look at that?"

The rest of the table turned to look at Beca across the cafeteria with her back turned to them, deep in conversation with Stacie, who leant with her back against the wall as she listened to Beca. "Is this a big deal?" CR asked, leaning forward, her elbows resting on the table. "I see them talk, like, all the time."

"I didn't know Beca and Stacie were close," Chloe remarked, placing her sandwich on the packaging and inspecting the person of their attention.

"It was news to me until this morning, too," Jesse said. "She's so getting laid tonight."

Fat Amy nearly choked on her spoon. "BM and Stacie?"

Jesse nodded, his eyebrows dancing on his forehead suggestively. "I mean, Beca keeps saying she doesn't want to, but I would put my life savings on her ending up underneath Stacie after a few drinks."

Chloe seemed almost angered by this suggestion, glancing at Jesse briefly before turning back to look at Beca, who seemed to be wrapping up her chat with Stacie. "If she doesn't want to, you shouldn't be pressuring her into it, Jesse. That's not cool."

"Trust me," Jesse replied, rolling his eyes. "She wants it. She just doesn't know it yet."

"Who doesn't know they want what?" They all looked up to see Beca peering down at them, taking her usual seat in-between Jesse and Chloe at the table.

Jesse turned his eyes downwards, looking at his food in his hands. "Not important. What were you talking to Stacie about?"

Beca rolled her eyes, setting her backpack on the table in front of her. "Wouldn't you want to know?"

"Yes, actually," he affirmed, moving closer. "Is she coming tonight?"

"She said she'll see."

" _She_ _'_ _ll see_?"

Beca was beginning to lose her patience, opening her bag impatiently. "Yes, Jesse. As you said earlier, a lot of people already have Friday night plans organised."

"Did you tell her it was the party of the century?" he quizzed eagerly.

"No, because it's not." She looked at all of her other friends at the table. "Nobody here is to spread any more word about this party, alright? I think enough people have been notified about it."

"Beca, come on," Jesse begged. "Okay, forget about you. _I_ need to get laid, like seriously. I used to get some all the time in Queens and now? _Nothing_. I'm gonna explode, man. I need this. We'd be so cool if you just did your thing with Stacie."

Beca shrugged innocently. "That's your problem. I'm doing no _thing_ with nobody."

"Okay, will someone here sleep with Stacie then?" Jesse looked at Fat Amy. "Amy?"

Amy held her hands up, shaking her head slowly. "Sorry, mate. I'm strictly dickly."

"Chloe?"

"I'd really rather not." Chloe seemed quite annoyed at this point, for reasons unknown to Beca. "Why don't you do it if you want to become popular so badly, Jesse?"

"Because Stacie is disgusted by my very existence."

Beca pointed at him, nodding. "This is true."

"Come on, man." Jesse pointed over at the other side of the cafeteria, forcing Beca to look over at Stacie, laughing and talking to her friends, being effortlessly attractive. " _That_ could be yours tonight, Becs."

Beca let out a sarcastic laugh, refusing to look at him, her eyes fixed on her hands as she got her lunch out of her bag. "You are actually out of your mind."

Chloe narrowed her eyes at Jesse as he scoffed at Beca's comment. "I don't like how you're pressuring Beca into doing this, Jesse, and honestly, I'm finding the way you're speaking about women rather disrespectful."

"I'm a seventeen year old male with raging hormones who hasn't gotten any in months," he shrugged. "Deal with it." He turned his attention back to Beca. "You in or not?"

Beca looked from Jesse to Chloe, and then down at the table, shaking her head slowly. "This party better be worth all this fucking stress it's causing me."

* * *

"I thought you said you had people bringing everything we needed," Beca pointed out, walking in through the doors of the supermarket with Jesse and CR.

"Yeah, the stuff that would be otherwise contraband." Jesse grabbed a cart and started straight for the home section. "I'm hardly going to need a dealer to get me red solo cups and cocktail sausages."

CR stopped in her tracks, whacking both of her friends repeatedly. "Hey, guys, is that Sam McKenzie?" They both followed her line of sight and there, before them, was the legendary athlete Sam McKenzie, stocking up on liquor in the aisle across from them. Sam graduated from Barden High two years previous. He was currently studying sports science in university, despite his well below average high school grades. Although his legacy wasn't being on the honour role, it certainly was throwing legendary parties. Someone like him would have been Jesse's inspiration.

"Shit," Jesse whispered. He glanced desperately at the other two. "We have to invite him." He walked forward, and looked like he was getting ready to speak.

Beca looked at him, trying frantically to get his attention. "Dude, what are you doing?"

"Hey, Sam," Jesse called out, making the man turn around. He gestured towards his friends. "Big fans. We go to Barden High. We're having a party tonight, you should drop by."

Sam gave him a thin-lipped smile, one that was meant to be friendly but also dismissive. He was probably wondering why he was having a conversation with some high schoolers about a party. "Yeah, I don't think I can, I have other plans tonight, so…"

"You sure, man? Maybe swing by if you change your mind, we'd love to have you. It's on Dickens Street."

Sam paused, seeming taken aback by this news. "That's _your_ party? _You_ _'_ _re_ throwing that?" He started to laugh, shaking his head. "That's actually where I'm going tonight. I heard it's meant to be lit. Are you guys throwing it?"

Jesse looked all too delighted with himself, while Beca looked horrified. "Yeah, I'm Beca Mitchell," Beca said, raising her hand a little. "It's my birthday, it'll be at my place."

"We'll be glad to have you there, man," Jesse said.

Sam gestured towards the direction of the tills. "Well, I better be going but I'll see you later tonight, I'll call my boys up, bring some cool people, some drinks. I'll see you guys later tonight."

Beca was too stunned to say anything, but Jesse looked nothing short of delighted, turning to the pair with a grin in place. "It's on, motherfuckers."

* * *

As the three of them walked from the store, three bags in each hand, Beca made the decision to calm down slightly about the party. It was happening, whether she liked it or not, and everyone knew about it, and she couldn't reverse that. She reckoned that all the worrying and stressing could be done during the party. For the moment, though, Beca supposed she could just enjoy the attention she was getting, even though it made her a little bit anxious.

As they neared her house, CR hit her lightly on the side. "Lil' B, there are some kids outside your door."

"Oh, it's cool," Jesse interrupted, waving madly to the two young boys. "They're our security."

Beca did a double take, pointing at the two children standing on her porch. "Them? They're middle schoolers, Jess."

"They're freshmen, and they're hard as fuck. Trust me, man."

Beca shook her head, disappointed that she over estimated her friend. "I _did_ trust you, I thought we were gonna get two big college guys, not infants."

"They'll keep it under control," he reassured, leading the way up Beca's drive way. "You have my word." He raised his arm in greeting to the security of the night. "What's up, guys?"

"Thanks for this gig, Swanson," one of them said, allowing Jesse to pat him on the back.

"Don't sweat it, man, we needed two guards to do this for cheap."

Beca stood in front of the two boys, dressed in mustard yellow security jackets. She eyed them up and down. "You're the security for my party?"

Jesse nodded, answering for them. "This is Chris and Miles." Both of them reached forward to shake Beca's hand, which she accepted reluctantly.

"Make sure nobody gets into the house," she warned. "I'll be a dead woman if there's any trace of a party."

Chris nodded. Obviously these two didn't do a lot of talking.

CR rubbed her hands together. "All right, Lil' B, you start setting up for the party, me and Jess will start warning the neighbours that there might be a little bit of noise tonight."

Beca nodded hesitantly, walking up the steps of her porch and going through the front door. She pressed her back up against it, throwing her backpack to the carpet and letting her head fall against the door. There was no time now to worry about the events of the night ahead of her. Now, she meant business.

* * *

Beca stood looking out the window of her kitchen, staring at her backyard and at the already dark sky. With a mournful expression on her face, her eyes shifted downwards, taking in the appearance of her backyard. There was a bouncy house, blowup dolls and her pool water was glowing a beautiful, bright, luminous blue. Tables were set up for beer pong, and practically every surface had some sort of alcohol on it. Two tables were set up for the DJs, one for the DJs Jesse hired and one for Beca, later on in the night, if she felt up for it. Glow sticks littered the floor, both inside and outside - she promised Jesse that he and CR had full use of the house to hook up with people.

Everything looked _awesome_.

But Beca was starting to freak out. The only people who were present at her house were her, Jesse, CR, Fat Amy, Chloe and the DJ who was setting up in the back. She cringed, imagining them being the only people to turn up. The whole idea of the party put a bad taste in her mouth, unable to stop the uneasiness taking over her body. "What time did you say for everyone to come, Jess?" she asked, turning around and entering the living room.

Jesse looked away from his conversation with Chloe, who was sitting on the couch beside him, looking as stunning as ever. "It's only half an hour after I said. Relax, Becs, people will show."

"I don't know," Beca sighed, dropping down onto the seat beside him. "I'll look like such a loser if no one comes."

Jesse placed a firm, reassuring hand on Beca's shoulder. " _Trust_ me, your house will be packed with people in two hours."

"Packed?" she asked, her eyes widening. "What did you do, Jesse?"

He raised his hands up in defence. "Nothing, I swear. You need to chill, Beca, seriously."

Beca opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. She shut it, covering her eyes with her hand, breathing deeply.

"Are you okay, Becs?" Beca looked up to see Chloe staring at her, a concerned smile on her face. "Everything will be all right. Your house looks _so_ cool."

Beca sighed, running a hand through her hair. "I'm so torn between wanting loads of people to turn up and wanting no one to turn up at all."

"Well," Jesse shrugged, standing up and starting towards the door. "I'm the centre of a huge social circle. Just have trust in your main man."

Beca let out a giant breath, slumping down further beside Chloe on the couch, who turned her body towards her, putting what was meant to be a reassuring hand on Beca's thigh, but ended up just stressing her out further. She immediately stiffened, but that didn't deter Chloe. It was moments like these that made Beca think her trying to drift from Chloe was a good idea; all these little gestures, the hugs, the touching, it all seemed more than friendly, but Beca knew deep down that it wasn't more than Chloe just being a touchy-feely person. But each time it happened, she couldn't help but get her hopes up the tiniest fraction. It was torture, but she felt she could ignore and allow it tonight. She deserves it. Just one night.

Chloe was the first to break the silence. "What're you thinking?"

"I don't know." Beca shifted her eyes to her lap, her fingers fidgeting by her knees. "What if it's a failure? What if nobody turns up? What if people-"

"Hey," the redhead interrupted, laughing at her friend's tendency to overthink. "I'm going to give you an order right now, okay?" Beca raised an eyebrow, nodding hesitantly. "Just enjoy yourself tonight. No worrying, no stressing, just concentrate on having a good time." She her face changed, smirking slightly, as if remembering something. "Also, I have your present to give you later, don't forget."

Beca opened her mouth to reply, before the sound of car doors shutting outside made her lose her train of thought. She and Chloe stood up simultaneously, just as Jesse, Amy and CR dashed into the room. "Holy shit," Beca whispered, barely believing the sight before her. People actually came. They were walking up towards her house, with crates of beer and spirits in their arms, chatting animatedly. There are at least a hundred people walking up her driveway, and Beca had to blink a few times to comprehend the sight before her, and to believe that it wasn't her mind playing tricks on her. Once she accepted that these people were very much on her property and very much making their way into her backyard, she bit her lip, unsure of whether she should be stressed about this amount of people coming, or relieved.

Jesse grinned, excitedly slapping Beca on the back repeatedly. "I fucking told you," he laughed, launching himself painfully off her and running out to the hallway and out the door to greet the guests.

"There's at least a hundred people here in the space of seven seconds," CR observed, peeking her head out into the hallway, watching as the two bodyguards lead all the guests into the backyard.

Fat Amy pushed Beca forward a little towards the hall. "Go on out, Shawshank. Entertain your guests."

Beca uneasily edged her way forward, taking small steps to make her way outside. Nervously, she found herself standing awkwardly on her porch, and was stunned at the amount of people pouring into her back yard. Nobody seemed recognise her; they were all too concerned with getting themselves comfortable so they could get absolutely smashed. This didn't bother Beca in the slightest, in fact, she actually expected it. If anything, Beca was relieved that nobody was giving her attention; she never cared for it much. If the entire night panned out like this, she could live with that.

All of the people who had just arrived loaded into the back; the efforts the guys made to choose an outfit for the night ranged from just a simple t-shirt and shorts, to actually wearing a smart shirt and jeans. Yet, all the girls looked the same; short skirts and tight tops, hugging their torsos. Suddenly, Beca felt very underdressed and a little self-conscious in her jeans and t shirt, but she was aware that it was the least of her worries tonight.

The next ten minutes were a blur to Beca. Around two hundred more people showed up within that time span. The DJ was out in the back, playing killer tracks that Beca had lined up for him. She had at least three drinks shoved into her hands and down her throat, and was already beginning to feel tipsy, even though the night had barely started. Other than that, the party had be incredibly underwhelming so far. She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but standing with CR and Jesse in the front yard, smiling nervously at the people arriving wasn't it.

The noise was unbelievable. Beca was pretty certain people in New York would be able to hear it. Balloons and glow-sticks were being thrown about everywhere, people snapping the glow-sticks in half and tipping its contents onto their clothes. The entire area glowed blue, pink, green and orange and through her anxiety, Beca couldn't help but think it looked awesome.

Currently, she was outside in the front yard with Jesse and CR, staring in awe at the people who were still arriving, being shown their way into the back by Amy.

Jesse slapped Beca on the arm, pointing towards a group of girls. "Holy shit," he exclaimed under his breath, barely able to get the words out. "Stacie came." Beca turned to look where he was pointing, and sure enough, Stacie and her ilk were all laughing together whilst walking through the back gate.

"This party is already a success, man," CR said, laughing and high-fiving Jesse. "C'mon, let's move into the back and get you a drink," she said, pointing at Beca seriously.

Jesse nodded, a sudden realisation dawning on him. "Yeah, how come I've given you drinks and you've only taken sips out of all of them?"

"Because I've had three shots of vodka and five different brands of beer practically thrust at me by loads of different people," she replied, walking with her friends to the backyard. "I want to remain semi-sober tonight." She avoided stepping on the beer bottles and broken glass that lay on the grass beneath them, the sight of bright blue light, smoke and hundreds of people clouding her vision.

"I am so fucked," Beca muttered. She was just about to turn to say something to Jesse and CR, when something from the other side of the yard caught her eye. She rushed around the pool to the group of people currently leaning on the hood of her dad's beloved sports car. "Hey, would you mind getting off the car? My dad will murder me if it gets dented or something." The people complied unenthusiastically, allowing Beca to breathe easily again.

Jesse and CR walked up beside her. "Dude, you gotta chill," Jesse whined. "CR, get her a drink. Stat."

Beca didn't have time to refuse, as the top of a vodka bottle was being placed between her lips and angled so the liquid was rushing down her throat at an incredible speed. She batted the bottle away briskly, spluttering and grimacing at the taste, before glaring at CR. " _Someone_ has to remain sober tonight and since it won't be either of you, I'll have to do it."

"You are not staying sober tonight." Jesse gave her a stern expression, lifting his drink a little. "This is your party, Becs. Let loose a little."

Beca shook her head, but was strangely unwilling to refuse again. She just simply sighed and took in the scene before her; girls dancing with each other, boys trying, and surprisingly succeeding, to get in-between them all. Beca frowned when she saw about thirty bras lying by the side of the pool, and gasped when she turned her eyes to the water and saw that every single girl in there was topless. She groaned, smacking her hand over her face.

Suddenly, the sight of Fat Amy briskly waddling towards her caught Beca's attention. "The phone," she panted, pointing back towards the house. "Your dad's ringing."

"Oh fuck." Beca urgently sprinted up to the house, and was in her father's study in a flash, making sure the door was slammed closed and just about catching the call before it went to speaker. "Hey, dad."

"Hi, Becs. Just calling to check up on you to make sure everything is going well."

Beca gulped, pacing up and down as she grasped the back of her neck with both hands. "Yeah, yeah, everything's fine. We're getting pizza delivered now."

Her father's tone went from friendly to stern, which made Beca roll her eyes. "Well, don't leave the cartons lying around the house. I want to come home to a spotless house, Beca."

"Sure, dad. Everything here is under control." Just at that second, a burst of flames went up by the window, and the sound of everyone cheering made her move her hands from her neck to the back of her head, digging her nails in roughly and cringing violently.

"What was that noise?"

Beca knew she had to think fast if she had any hope of getting out of this. "Uh, the TV's on in the background, so…" She trailed off, hoping to god her dad bought it.

After a long pause, he replied at last. "Well, alright. Stay safe this weekend, Beca. We love you."

"Love you too, dad," she said, sighing with relief when she hung up. She allowed herself a minute to compose herself, before the severity of the situation all of a sudden came crashing down on her, making her lash out. "Fuck, fuck, fuck!" she cursed, banging her fist against the wall, not hard enough to inflict pain. Breathing deeply, she tipped her head up high. "You can do this," she muttered, reaching her shaking hand out and opening the door. She stepped out into the hallway, wincing slightly at the sudden volume of the music hitting her ears. She slipped out the back door through the kitchen without anyone noticing, running her hands down her cheeks in panic.

"Becs." Beca turned her head to see Jesse and CR waving wildly at her from beside the pool-house, but she shook her head at them, making them frown and make their way over to her, anxiety evident in their body language. The look on Beca's face clearly spoke volumes about her current state of mind. "Did your dad figure it out? Is he mad?" Jesse suddenly looked almost as worried as Beca felt.

Beca shook her head. "No, but it was just… It was scary to almost get caught." She let out a big sigh, looking with a stoic expression at the hundreds of people in front of her, trashing her yard and possibly ruining her mental health.

Jesse saw how stressed his friend was getting, and suddenly decided that there was no convincing Beca to relax. "Let's go out to the front," he suggested, placing his hand on Beca's lower back to guide her outside. "I think the air out here is two percent oxygen, five percent nitrogen and ninety-three percent weed."

Beca couldn't help but smile, letting herself be led out the back gate, CR in tow. People were still arriving, none of them without alcohol. Beca couldn't believe that she was actually afraid that nobody would show up- literally eight or nine times the amount of people she wanted here, came. She cursed her best friend in that moment, but swore to herself never to doubt him again.

The sound of a car horn broke her from her thoughts, and she looked up to see a huge, black, snazzy double-decker bus parked outside her house. Strobe lights bounced off the windows, and music blared from the speakers inside.

"Holy shit." She stared in awe as the door opened and Sam McKenzie stepped out, his fist high in the air, laughing loudly and drunkenly.

"Mr McKenzie," Jesse yelled, going over to greet him, fighting to be heard over the sound of the music pumping in the backyard. He and Sam pounded each other on the back as if they were old buddies, which made Beca roll her eyes slightly, crossing her arms over her chest.

"What's up man?" Sam started to introduce the abundance of people stepping off the bus, but Beca was distracted by one of the security guards sprinting towards them.

"We're fucked," he gasped, a panicked look on his face. At Beca's quizzical look, he continued. "There are people in the house!"

Beca immediately sprung into acton. "How the fuck did that happen?" she shouted, starting to run back to the house. "Jesse, I need your help." At Jesse's reluctant expression, Beca let out a desperate _dude_ , which forced Jesse to give Sam an apologetic look, and follow Beca into the house.

"Oh shit," Jesse said, his eyes widening as he realised half of the guests had now decided that the kitchen was a better location than the backyard. "What are we gonna do?"

Beca ran her hands through her hair, almost in tears. "We need to get them the fuck out, dude." She stopped for a second, going over different ideas and scenarios in her head, before deciding on one. "Okay, I have to say something."

"No, Beca!" Jesse hissed, grabbing her wrist roughly. "If you embarrass me, I swear, I will kill you."

"And if I don't get everyone out, my parents will kill _me_." Beca shook her head furiously. "I don't care if this makes me a loser, I'm saying something." She made her way over to the kitchen island with haste and hoisted herself up onto it, the alcohol making it slightly more difficult for her, swaying slightly once she made it up there. "Guys!" It didn't get anyone's attention, causing Beca to higher her volume. "Hey, guys! Everyone!"

This time, people did notice, but they definitely got the wrong end of the stick. Whoops of ' _hey, it_ _'_ _s Beca_ ' and ' _yeah, Beca!_ ' were thrown about, making Beca gasp for air in frustration as the music was lowered slightly for her to speak. Her eyes flickered towards Stacie, who was looking her way, clapping and biting her lip to stop smiling, for some reason unknown to Beca.

"Beca!" The booming voice of Sam bounced off the walls, and suddenly he was beside her, pounding her on the back, rather roughly, with the palm of his large hand, making her recoil in pain. "That's what I like to see, buddy!" He turned to one of the people he arrived with. "Let's go outside, let's start making some drinks, bro." Beca's 'speech' was over before it even started. The music was up at full blast again and Beca was looking hopelessly around the room, realising that there was no way anyone was leaving the house. She just jumped down off the counter, shaking her head.

She made her way out of the kitchen, and as she did, something switched in her head. Getting everyone out of the house was going to be impossible, and trying to do so would be absolutely futile, so what was the point in being worried about it? There was nothing she could possibly do to change it, so she may as well enjoy it. A million thoughts were buzzing around her mind then, but she didn't pay them any attention as she stormed over to Jesse, who was standing at the wall, chatting up some girl. She snatched the bottle of Malibu out of his hand, startling him as she took a giant swig of it. "I don't care anymore," she told him, ignoring his quickly growing grin. "Let's get fucked up."

Jesse laughed loudly, throwing his arm around her waist and lifting her up. Beca usually prohibited this kind of touching, but at this moment, she didn't care. This was her night.

* * *

An hour later, and the party still in full force, Beca was upstairs in her parents room with Jesse and CR, more drunk than she had ever been in her entire life. Incredibly, the upstairs of the house remained vacant, as Beca chanced putting duct tape across the stairs, forbidding entrance. She didn't think people would actually obey it, but she was pleasantly surprised, albeit knowing it wouldn't be long before someone ripped the tape away and made their way up to the empty part of the house.

Currently, she sat perched on the edge of her parents bed, willing the room to stop spinning. She hadn't drank all that much alcohol, and tried to gulp down a glass of water for every shot she did, but she was still pretty tipsy.

Jesse's voice broke her from her thoughts. "God, there are so many hot girls here tonight."

"Do you always think with your dick, dude?" Beca laughed.

CR's expression changed pleasantly as she smiled at Beca. "I see someone has loosened up a bit tonight."

"What's the point in stressing?" Beca shrugged. "I'm done with thinking tonight." A light buzzing sensation from the front pocket of her jeans alerted her that she had a text message, and she reached into her pocket, fumbling to unlock her phone. "Shit, it's from Stacie."

Jesse turned around in his seat comically fast. "What does it say?" he asked, leaning up in his seat to snatch the phone from Beca's hand. "' _Drinks for the birthday girl, now_ '. Dude, you are _so_ getting laid tonight."

Beca knew this would not end well and tried to grab it back, but Jesse pushed her backwards, making Beca accept the fact that he was much stronger than her. "CR, hold her back," he ordered, as he started typing away on her phone. "I know you would just ignore the message or reject it. I'm only doing you a favour here, buddy."

Beca wriggled free out of CR's grasp, stomping over to Jesse and taking the phone from him. "' _I want your ass too, mommy_ '?" She tried to speak, but no words came out. "I want your ass, mommy? Who the fuck talks like that, dude?" She growled slightly at the sound of CR's booming laughter from behind her. If she was sober, she would be absolutely furious.

"I do," he shrugged nonchalantly, annoying Beca with his innocent expression. "It works, I'm telling you." He stood up, pushing Beca towards the door. "Let's go downstairs, and get even more drunk." Beca complied, the alcohol in her system making her decision for her, seemingly having forgotten the events of five seconds ago. She stumbled her way down the stairs, leading Jesse and CR into the backyard. She picked up a drink in the kitchen along the way, and downed it, the taste of vodka and cherry coke hitting her tongue. She winced at the strong taste, but she was far too drunk to cough and splutter like usual. She looked around, throwing the cup haphazardly somewhere in the grass before finding Stacie and a group of people from their grade dancing together in between everyone. Beca felt Jesse nudge her towards them, and she nodded, feeling the effects of the vodka as she worked her way through the crowds to Stacie, who noticed her immediately. The smile she sent Beca made her regret going over, but before she could do anything, Stacie's arms were wrapped around her neck, and their bodies were pressed against each other's. They stayed like this for a few minutes, Beca growing increasingly more relaxed as she realised Stacie's hands weren't beginning to wander and she didn't appear to have ulterior-motives. Beca didn't get to unwind for long, however, as the feeling of Stacie's lips near her ear distracted her from the music. "Let's go over to the beer pong table," she whispered, still managing to be heard over the blaring mixes. Beca nodded dumbly, allowing Stacie to grab her hand and lead her over to the side of the house.

"You want to play?" Beca asked her, and the look Stacie gave her made her feel very, very stupid.

Stacie shook her head at her, apparently not noticing the crowd forming around them, which included Jesse, CR and Chloe. " _We_ ," Stacie said lowly, motioning in between her and Beca, "are going to do body shots." She smirked evilly, picking up a small lemon wedge from the table. Beca glanced down at the table, and picked up a shot glass with tequila in it, but Stacie's hand shot out to stop her. "No, no, not like that." Beca gulped, the smart reply she would have had if she was sober lodged in her throat as she felt Stacie hold the side of her head and pull it so it tilted down slightly, the right side of Beca's neck exposed with full access. The feeling of the cold lemon juice stung a little bit as it seeped into Beca's skin, but she didn't have much time to dwell on it as the lemon wedge was suddenly being pushed in between her teeth, the sour taste hitting her taste buds, almost making her spit it out. The stinging sensation at the side of her neck increased, using her peripheral vision to see Stacie sprinkle salt all over it, a mischievous glint in her eye, still grinning widely. Beca looked up to Jesse and CR without moving her head an inch, her eyes frantic as she watched their ecstatic expressions. Her eyes flickered to Chloe, who wasn't even watching them, her eyes trained on her shoes and her hands behind her back. Beca couldn't believe she was allowing this to happen in front of Chloe, but the protests she wanted to make wouldn't leave her mouth. She was about to say something about her neck being sore from staying tilted in this position for too long, but the feeling of a warm tongue licking up the path of her neck silenced her completely. Beca clenched her eyes shut, remaining rooted to the spot as Stacie started to lightly suck the salt and lemon solution off of Beca's skin, before trailing her tongue up along Beca's jawline, to her ear and traced along her piercings, tortuously slowly. Beca desperately hoped Stacie didn't leave a mark on her neck, opening her eyes to the sight of Stacie's face split in a smirk, her face nearing Beca's. She didn't have time to react before Stacie wrapped her mouth around the half of the lemon that was sticking out between Beca's lips, sucking it into her mouth and spitting it out to the side. Beca licked her lips to get rid of the excess lemon juice, moving her neck around to work out the cramp in it. She then looked up to see Stacie knocking back a shot, looking triumphant when everyone cheered loudly.

"Well," Beca managed, coughing loudly to get everyone's attention. "This has been fun, but I'm going to go make sure Fat Amy is still in one piece." Before she could even step away, Stacie's hand was on her arm, holding her in place.

"You still have to do one off me," she winked, pulling Beca closer, reaching down and picking up a lemon wedge from the table, holding it in-between her index and middle finger teasingly. Beca glanced up at her friends desperately, but Jesse and CR looked like they had no intention of helping her. Beca's stress levels were beginning to rise on account of the situation she was in, and the sight of Stacie looking at her like she was a piece of meat certainly wasn't helping.

It shouldn't have surprised Beca that Chloe was the one to save the day. She marched in between the two girls, fire in her eyes, grabbing Beca's hand urgently. "Bec, your dad's on the phone inside," she told her, loud enough for everyone to hear.

Beca tried not to concentrate on the fact that Chloe's hand was touching hers, as she smiled apologetically at Stacie. "Rain check," she offered, not even waiting for a reply as she allowed Chloe to pull her through the crowd of people watching them, past all the drunken dancers and in through the sliding back doors. When Chloe led her to a still empty upstairs, she pulled Chloe into her room with her, and slammed the door shut, before collapsing down on her bed. "Thank you so much, dude," Beca said, laughing breathily as she stared at the ceiling. "That was the most uncomfortable I think I've ever been in my entire life."

She missed the forced smile Chloe shot at her. "You looked like you were enjoying it," she muttered back.

Beca sat up to look at the redhead incredulously. "Are you kidding? That was probably the most awkward encounter I've had with anyone, probably ever." She patted the spot on the bed beside her, inviting Chloe to come closer. The redhead quirked an eyebrow at her, but accepted it, taking a seat beside Beca.

"Are you drunk? she inquired, looking at Beca's dilated pupils and slightly dopy expression.

Beca nodded quickly, making Chloe giggle. "Lil' bit," she replied. "Why?"

"You usually don't allow anyone into your personal space," she teased, but the unsaid _especially me_ was hanging in the air, the elephant in the room visible to both of them. Chloe turned to her, a big grin suddenly on her face. "I have something for you." She stood up abruptly and went over to Beca's closet, swinging the door open dramatically.

Beca leaned back on the bed on her elbows, letting out a laugh. "You hid my present in my room?"

"Good, right?" Chloe emerged from the closet, her right hand behind her back. She moved so she was standing directly in front of Beca, bounced excitedly on her heels in, Beca hated to admit it, a very adorable way, and then she held out the gift, her arm stretched out fully. "Happy birthday, nerd," she smiled, handing the present to Beca before joining her back on the side of the bed.

Beca inspected the wrapped gift in her hands. It was rectangular, small and relatively flat. Unable to stop the excitement being evident on her face, she gently removed the wrapping paper, and what she saw hit her straight in the stomach. It was a photo frame, containing a picture of her and Chloe, in the first grade, sitting side by side in the playground, hugging each other tightly. She struggled for words, and she speechlessly looked up at Chloe, who was eagerly waiting for a reaction. "We… were really small," Beca uttered, and shook her head at herself when Chloe laughed loudly.

"You're welcome," the redhead chuckled, making Beca hate herself slightly.

She turned to Chloe, giving her a bright yet soft smile. "Really though, I love it, Chlo. Thank you."

"I'm glad." The redhead leaned down slightly so she could rest her head on Beca's shoulder. She waited, presumably thinking of what to say. "I… I really miss you, you know."

"You see me everyday," Beca breathed, looking down at her lap.

She felt Chloe shake her head while it rested on her shoulder, her hair moving up and down Beca's neck, making her shiver. They looked at each other's faces in the mirror in front of them, not breaking eye contact. "Yeah, but…" She looked like she was having some sort of internal battle, and Beca's facial expression was trying to encourage Chloe to continue, but she still looked hesitant. "I don't know if this is the time and setting for this conversation," she told Beca softly, but Beca's _try me_ look in her eyes had Chloe complying. "It's… it's just not the same. We don't talk how we used to. We don't hang out really anymore. I don't really know what happened to us, Becs, and I… I really, _really_ tried to stay close but you were having none of it and-" Beca really couldn't take it anymore. She just couldn't. She could never stand seeing Chloe upset for any reason, and the fact that the redhead's voice is cracking, showing signs of impending tears, because of _her_ , was too much. It's in this moment that Beca knew she had to tell her. She had to come clean and tell Chloe everything. But, she knew that wasn't really an option; Chloe was probably drunk, she was definitely drunk, and who knows what stupid shit she'd say. So, instead, Beca decided to show Chloe how she felt. She turned her head, put her finger under Chloe's chin to tilt her head up so it was on the same level as Beca's, and pressed her lips against Chloe's. Immediately, a warm, _right_ feeling spread across the lower half of Beca's face. Chloe's lips were soft, but that didn't surprise Beca. It also didn't surprise Beca how this kiss was making her feel; she had done _things_ with people before, but sitting there, simply with her lips on Chloe's, she felt like she was on top of the world. She could almost hear and feel the blood rushing through her at an impossibly fast speed. It was every bit as perfect as she thought it would be. Kissing Chloe Beale felt a thousand times more exciting than having the most popular girl at school do a body shot off her. This was Beca's _it_.

She let out a breath she had been holding since she first leaned in to kiss Chloe, and as she sat there, waiting, it suddenly occurred to her that she was sitting there, kissing Chloe Beale, and said Chloe Beale wasn't doing anything. Reality crashed down on Beca as she pulled back so fast she nearly fell off the bed, the picture frame squeezed tightly in her hand. "I'm so sorry," she gasped, covering her mouth and looking frantically around the room to avoid Chloe's eyes. "That was probably so weird, I'm so sorry."

"No!" Chloe nearly yelled, causing Beca to jump. "That wasn't weird," she reassured her. "It wasn't weird at all." Before Beca knew it, Chloe's lips were on hers again, and this time Chloe was actually _kissing her_. She was on her back within seconds, with Chloe lying on top of her, and she had never felt anything so perfect. She gripped Chloe's side with one hand, the other still holding the photo, and moved her head in synchronisation with her best friend, who panted lowly against Beca's mouth, and the small sound made Beca respond with a noise of her own. Beca wanted to stay in this moment forever. She couldn't give a damn about sex; this tenderness with Chloe was all she needed, and could do it for the rest of her life, but before she knew it, a loud cheer from outside broke them from their spell, Beca breaking away anxiously.

"Hey." Beca snapped her head away from the window to look at Chloe, who was smiling at her softly. "Relax." This made Beca laugh and flop down beside the redhead on the bed, forgetting the party and returning to her previous state of bliss.

"I am," she breathed back, turning to face Chloe.

Chloe looked down sheepishly, smiling bashfully before connecting her eyes with Beca's. "I've wanted to do that for a really long time, you know."

Beca couldn't work out whether Chloe was drunk, that the kissing and the confession was the product of a drunken mind, but part of her couldn't comprehend the words leaving Chloe's mouth. She didn't have much time to battle with it, as Chloe swung her leg to the other side of Beca, and before she knew it, Chloe was straddling her again. Chloe leaned down and started pressing kisses along her jaw, and trailed them down her neck, the side that was unmarked by Stacie, Beca noted, guilt briefly taking over her brain. Her mind went blank then, letting her head fall further backwards as she let out an uneven, deep breath. With every kiss, she felt more alive, but something was stopping her from giving herself to Chloe completely. It was nearing midnight, and she had close to a thousand people on her property, she was drunk off her skull and Chloe probably was too. The line of where Chloe's lips had been felt like fire on the sensitive skin on Beca's neck, and Beca allowed herself to get lost in the moment, but she second she felt slender fingers pop the button on her jeans, her eyes opened, and before Beca knew it, she was protesting lightly. "Chlo," she whispered, pushing her back gently. "Wait a sec."

"What's wrong?" she asked, searching Beca's face nervously for any signs of regret.

Beca sighed, crossing her legs on the bed and turning to face the redhead, undoing the work Chloe did on her jeans. "This isn't the right time to do this." She averted her gaze, unwilling to look at Chloe's face at the moment. "I'm drunk, you're drunk, and-"

"I'm not drunk," Chloe cut in rapidly, making Beca look up at her, baffled. "I haven't had a drink at all tonight." Suddenly, Chloe's reassurance turned to anxiety, her hands wringing together nervously. "You weren't just kissing me because you were drunk, right?"

"Oh, god, no," Beca told her, a little too loudly, wanting to get her message to Chloe across as quickly as possible. She couldn't stand her friend being upset. "The reason why I've been pushing you away was because I… wanted t-to kiss you and stuff but I knew I couldn't, and it was too hard to be close to you." She cursed herself as she stuttered, thinking that the alcohol was beginning to fail her in her previous intoxicated confidence. Beca knew she wasn't exactly explaining her feelings well, but in her current drunk state, it was probably the best she could muster, and she begrudgingly accepted that.

She was surprised Chloe's face didn't split open from how wide she was grinning. "I wanted to be _close_ to you for the same reason," she said, inching nearer to Beca on the bed.

"Then what about Tom?" Beca asked, before she could stop herself, recoiling slightly away from Chloe at her own sudden outburst. "What about all the boys you were with? Was that to make me jealous?" She realised how vain she was sounding, but she couldn't bring herself to care all that much, too concentrated on the impending answer.

Chloe sighed, refusing to lock eyes with Beca. "Not… consciously, anyway," she assured her quietly. "I wouldn't hurt you on purpose, you know that. That was just… stupid, me and Tom. Me and those guys. I guess I just wanted to… stop liking you like that, so I got with guys, but obviously it didn't work." She shrugged sadly, still looking at Beca's comforter. "I figured you didn't like me. I always thought you were straight."

Beca scoffed, making both of them laugh lightly. She suddenly stood, before turning her head and looking at Chloe, who was staring at her from the bed, slightly baffled at Beca's sudden movements. Then, the brunette stretched her arm out towards her, beckoning Chloe to take her hand. Chloe smiled warmly, taking Beca's hand in hers, and standing up beside her, allowing Beca to lead her towards the door. They may have been leaving the room to join the party, but they were leaving _together_ , and that thought made Beca so thrilled, her smile didn't die down for an hour.

* * *

It was just after one in the morning, and there were close to two thousand people at Beca's house. Some were in the backyard, others were downstairs, some were even doing stupid shit on the street, and now the upstairs was occupied. Beca found that the more she drank, the less she cared. The cops had stopped by, but Beca, Jesse and CR managed to get everyone into the back, and quieten them down until the police left. Half an hour after her encounter with Chloe, the DJ called Beca up to his decks and had everyone sing her happy birthday. She had never heard so many people in her life sing it, two thousand people. And it was all for _her_. She could see Chloe's face beaming up at her as she sang. It was incredible.

Beca had lost Chloe in the sea of people in her living room after a few minutes of dancing, which bothered her to no end, and she was far too wasted to even consider DJing, so the DJ Jesse had on standby was currently operating the deck in the living room. These things put her in kind of a bad mood, but all she had to do was think of what happened with Chloe an hour earlier, and her smile reappeared.

Beca was currently lying on the grass on the front lawn, in between CR and Jesse. He was telling them about the girl he hooked up with in Beca's parents' bedroom (gross, but she would keep that to herself), but once silence took over them, Beca knew she had to tell them her news.

"I made out with Chloe," she said, her voice quiet and hoarse, from the bitter alcohol and the weed. "I'm, like, really into her. Have been for a while."

Jesse exhaled loudly beside her in response, his hands resting on his stomach. "That's cool and all, Becs," he slurred, "but like, she's kind of always been one of us. Tonight was about the people we never had a shot with."

"Dude, can you ever just let something go?"

"No." He turned to look at Beca, finding it hard to sound exasperated in the current state he was in. "You only have a couple of hours to do Stacie, now. The clock is ticking, Beca. Do this thing with Stacie, and then you have all the time in the world to do your couple-y shit with the ginger."

Beca ignored him, opting to looking at her surroundings, fascination in her eyes. "I can't believe you did this, man. All these people here, it's insane."

Jesse, with some effort, sat up, pulling Beca and CR up with him. "I also, hooked us up with this." He stuffed his hand in his pocket messily, and pulled out a little packet of ecstasy tablets. "Got them from this guy I know, called Cyrus. He's the dude that delivered all the gin to us. He had, like, five hundred of these tabs, so I gave them out earlier while you and Chloe were being disgusting in your room."

"How much fucking money did you spend on this party?" Beca quizzed, shaking her head at him. "The pills probably cost a fortune."

"Nah, I stole them," he shrugged, not picking up on the incredulous look spreading across Beca's face. Eventually, it dawned on him that she wasn't happy. "What?"

"Do you not know how much shit you could get yourself into for fucking over a drug dealer?" CR piped in, shooting Jesse a look similar to Beca's. "You could actually end up getting killed."

Jesse scoffed. "My lawyer family will get me out of it." The pair were still both speechless, making him lose his temper. "For fucks sake, the damage is already done, just take the damn pill." He ignored their worried glances, opening the bag and dropping a pill into CR's palm, who took it all too willingly, seemingly forgetting about the stolen goods. He then turned to Beca, who looked conflicted, staring at the pill between Jesse's fingers. "Go on, a little ecstasy never hurt anyone."

Beca quirked an eyebrow, rolling her eyes. "That is extremely untrue." She looked up at him nervously. "This won't completely fuck me up, right?"

"Of course it will fuck you up, man. That's the whole point." He placed the pill on Beca's palm and handed her a bottle of beer, before standing up. She shrugged, the words _what the hell_ flashing in her head as she popped the pill in her mouth and chugged the beer before she could change her mind. She blinked, before falling back down on the grass, groaning, only to have her arm pulled upwards by Jesse, yanking Beca to her feet suddenly. "Let's go back inside."

Beca recognised the thumping of her own remix of _Heads Will Roll_ , so she didn't complain, and allowed herself to be pushed into the living room, strobe lights and lasers bouncing off the walls, as her body was taken over by the music.

* * *

Thirty minutes later, as predicted by Jesse, Beca was completely fucked up. She stupidly figured that she'd be able to keep control of her thoughts and actions, but she was absolutely smashed, drunk and high beyond belief. So much so, she found herself dancing intimately with Stacie in the middle of the large crowd in her living room, the feeling of Stacie's hot breath on the side of her neck and ear making itself known to Beca, but she couldn't bring herself to care or push Stacie away. Her body was pressed flush up against Beca's, and usually she wouldn't be too keen on someone she didn't know all that well touching her like this, but there was a block in her mind, stopping her from saying something negative about the situation. It was almost as if sober Beca and high Beca were two completely different people. The little, fucked up devil on her shoulder was telling her that getting this close to Stacie would be good for her, that she needed to let loose a little.

Beca really knew something was really up when she felt herself being dragged out of the room and up the stairs by Stacie. It was obvious what was about to go down, but Beca was truly unable to give a shit. Beca didn't know what was happening to her; she wasn't telling Stacie to stop, she wasn't trying to get out of this situation. Instead, she was leading Stacie into her bedroom, which was vacant, to Beca's surprise, closing the door behind them and moving over to where her stereo was. She turned her back on the tall brunette, who inspected Beca's walls.

"Cool room," she commented, noticing the various posters of bands and artists Beca looked up to and aspired to be like when she graduated high school.

"Thanks," Beea muttered, fiddling with the buttons on the speaker, suddenly unable to remember how to work it, and when the sound of calm, slow music flooded her ears, her shoulders dropped, relaxing. She was finding it difficult to focus her eyes on anything, and whenever she managed to think something intelligent, it managed to disperse only seconds later. The only thing that was sticking in Beca's mind persistently was Chloe's whereabouts. This was another thing was that getting to Beca; here she was, in her room with Stacie, after having an important talk with Chloe just an hour previously, and she wasn't panicking or trying to stop what was going on. It didn't take a genius, or a sober person, to figure out what was about to happen between Beca and Stacie, and instead of fleeing, like what Beca would usually do, she felt comfort in the fact that she could blame this event on the alcohol. And the ecstasy, evidently.

Suddenly, the feeling of a nearing presence made Beca tense slightly, and then arms were encircling her waist, and the length of Stacie's body was being pressed into her back, making Beca suck in a deep breath, stiffening. "So," Stacie started lowly from behind her, moving her head down to rest it on Beca's shoulder. "It's your birthday."

"Uh huh." Beca wouldn't have said more even if she had the capability, but then Stacie was pressing fleeting kisses along the back of her neck, and the top of her back, and her mind went foggy. Stacie spun Beca to face her, not beating around the bush anymore as she crashed their lips together, and Beca's closed eyes were rolling to the back of her head. She moved her lips against Stacie's drunkenly, and probably messily, which seemed to go unnoticed by Stacie, who moaned into Beca's open mouth, before returning her attention to her neck, biting roughly at Beca's skin. "I always thought you were hot as fuck," she breathed into Beca's ear, who was only half listening. She clenched her eyes shut at the sensation of Stacie dusting kisses across her neck, before biting hard.

Stacie seemed to have had enough of clothed Beca, and was already grabbing at her shirt, attempting to clumsily pull it over her head. Then, Beca found that her chest and collarbones were being attacked, and before she knew it, she was being thrown on her back onto her bed, Stacie not far behind her. Beca was breathing hard, unable to fully fathom what was currently happening to her. Stacie was grinning wickedly down at her, straddling her current victim, before continuing her assault on Beca's chest. "Your tattoos always turned me on," she whispered into Beca's neck.

Beca hummed, just simply permitting this attack on her. Whenever she started to allow herself to enjoy Stacie's actions, Chloe's face would appear in her mind. She wasn't shocked by that in the slightest, but what did catch her by surprise was Stacie suddenly grabbing at the back of her neck and pulling her upwards to join their lips once again. What got to Beca even more was that she leaned up further, pushing herself up by her elbows, deepening the kiss. Stacie's tongue in her mouth felt like nothing compared to Chloe's, and Beca knew she was being absolutely horrible right now, but Stacie's tongue dragging across her neck made her breath hitch, and she was collapsing back against her mattress again. She felt like an asshole, but was too drunk and high to care, allowing Stacie to run her slightly cold hands along her sides.

"You know," Stacie gasped, before moving back to Beca's lips, the taste of vodka and fruit punch taking over Beca's mouth. "You," another kiss, slightly moving off the side of her mouth and along her cheeks before moving back to her lips, starting off slow and chaste, before turning hot and rushed, "are such," Stacie's tongue invaded her mouth, making Beca's eyes roll to the back of her head at the sensation, her hands moving to grab bunches of Stacie's shirt with tight fists, her nails digging roughly into Stacie's lower back, "a good," her tongue licked inside Beca mouth, tangling with hers and making the recipient of this attention squeak in surprise, "kisser." She shot Beca a wink that made her stomach drop, before dropping her head, and resuming her assault on the sensitive skin of Beca's neck.

Beca knew that she probably had about twelve hickies on her skin at the moment, but they were the least of her problems at the moment. She opened her eyes to see Stacie staring down at her hungrily, and she knew she had no escape at this point, not that she would be able to escape, with her current lack of motor and verbal skills. She had come to terms with the fact that she pretty much had no control over her actions at this stage, so she lay back and drifted off into her own world, half paying attention when Stacie's hands started making contact with the zipper on her jeans.

The sound of the music from downstairs being clearer all of a sudden made Beca raise her eyebrows in bafflement, her eyes still closed, seemingly sober enough to notice that something in the moment had shifted, but a confused "Beca?" from behind her made her eyes snap open and bulge out of her head. She scrambled up from her position below Stacie, turning to face the door, and was forced to witness the confusion and hurt darting across Chloe's features. Chloe's hand rose to clamp over her mouth, and suddenly she was gone, out of Beca's sight.

Beca immediately jumped up, grabbed her t-shirt from it's position on the floor and threw it on, suddenly feeling one hundred percent sober as she bolted out of the room and down the stairs, the faint sound of Stacie calling her name behind her. Panic thundered in her ears as she looked around frantically, ignoring the slaps on her back and people trying to get her attention. She made her way to the front door and caught a glimpse of red hair on her front lawn, which made her sprint faster than she ever had in her entire life out the door. So many people were on the street shouting and laughing, driving motor cycles at ridiculously stupid speeds over speed bumps, drinking alcohol and probably fucking in the bushes, but Beca ignored them all, racing to catch up with Chloe. When she eventually reached her, she laid a hand on her upper arm to stop her, but the look on Chloe's face when she whipped around told Beca that this conversation would not end well.

"What the fuck is _wrong_ with you?" Chloe spat, shoving Beca backwards, almost pushing her to the ground. "I _trusted_ you."

"I'm so sorry," Beca panted, frantically trying to get Chloe to listen. "Chlo, I just-"

The tears in Chloe's eyes sprung into view as she cut Beca off, grabbing an approaching Beca by the t-shirt roughly, and pushing her back once again. "No! You do _not_ get to call me that." She shoved her face into her hands, making her speech barely audible to Beca. "How was I so stupid?"

"No, I was stupid." Beca tried to step closer to the redhead, who moved backwards immediately, giving Beca a look she did not like at all.

"How could you do that to me?" Chloe asked, tears beginning to run down her face. "I believed you, what you said earlier. You actually made me feel like I meant something to you."

Beca was on the verge of collapsing to her knees from guilt and stress. "You _do_ mean something to me," she let out, her throat starting to close up. "You mean _everything_ to me, Chloe." Chloe's harsh yet crushed scoff hurt her in ways she couldn't describe. "I know it didn't look like that just then but… please believe me. I… don't know how I let that happen. I could explain if you let me think of the right words. Please, you have to let me explain." She knew she must have sounded absolutely desperate right then, but the truth was, she would have given anything to turn back time. To have stopped Stacie's pursuit. To be sober.

"You know," Chloe started, ignoring her comment, laughing with pure venom in her voice, clear dismay etched across her features. "I thought if we ever did become close to getting together, you might become a little distant and indifferent about the intimacy or suddenness. But _this_? H-how? Why?" She was almost becoming aggressive, which made Beca completely perplexed. She had seen Chloe mildly annoyed before, albeit never with Beca, but she had never seen Chloe like this. Quite frankly, it frightened her.

Beca was finding it pretty much impossible to find any words at all. It was almost as if she had briefly broken out of her high state to catch up to the redhead, and once she had the opportunity to speak, she went completely blank. "Please tell me what I can say," she begged, a hand on her forehead, as if to hold her head up right. "P-please tell me what I can do. I don't know what I could say to make this better. I need to make this better, Chlo, I have t-"

"Don't bother," the redhead said bitterly, already walking backwards. "Just… I'm going home. Don't call me." And with that, Chloe spun on her heels and ran into the night, leaving Beca alone, standing there in the street, staring after her best friend.

After a few moments of simply standing there on the packed road, processing what had just occurred, Beca robotically turned around and started staggering towards her house, through all the people in her front yard, her face completely expressionless, her movements clumsy. Her own remix of _Cheap and Cheerful_ was being blasted inside, already half way through the song. It was the best part of the mix, and usually she would be singing along, but Beca blocked it out entirely. Out of the corner of her eye she could see so many people were wrecking her front yard, littering it with broken glass and blunts, and there was even a very large pile of unfinished, still very-much-lit cigarettes, but she ignored all of them, the fact that they were destroying her property going over her head. None of that mattered. Nothing mattered to her anymore.

She pushed her way in through the hallway of her house, squeezed past everyone in the hallway and went into her father's office. She was met with the sight of two random people going at it on the couch in the corner, opposite the computer, which Beca did not take too kindly to. She screamed at them to get out, pushing the sheepish couple out of the room, and slammed the door behind them, her arm swinging backwards from the force, before twisting the lock. She threw herself into her dad's desk chair and rested her elbows on her thighs, her face buried in her hands, her index and middle fingers rubbing soothing yet pressured circles on her temples. The ring of the telephone behind her didn't interrupt her inner turmoil, too numb to move, and the familiar tone of ' _You_ _'_ _ve reached the Mitchell_ _'_ _s. Leave a message after the beep_ ' behind her.

" _Beca, I_ _'_ _ve just received my fifth call, and it_ _'_ _s from another neighbour. I_ _'_ _m sure they_ _'_ _re exaggerating. Call me back when you get this._ _"_ Beca sighed, not removing her head from her hands. How could she let things spiral so out of control? How had she let this happen? Everything was a complete mess, her dad would kill her, her house was a wreck, Chloe hated her. All Beca wanted to do in that moment was to go to sleep and never wake up. She had never felt more strange in her life; she was in a state of feeling everything and feeling nothing at all. She blamed Jesse a little bit, but mostly herself. She did this, she allowed this.

When she heard another call coming through, and her father's slightly more anxious and angry voice on the answering machine, she had really had enough. She slipped out of the room, trying to go unnoticed. She made her way up the stairs, momentarily forgetting what rooms were where in her own house. She spotted the second flight of stairs on her right, and unsteadily climbed them to the third storey attic, grasping the handrail as she went. Making sure the door was securely shut behind her, Beca timidly walked over to the window, opened it as wide as it would go (with quite a lot of effort), and, after taking a large, calming breath, climbed outside ever so slowly, so she was standing on the ledge, her back pressed up against the side of her house. Beca realised this was probably a stupid thing to do whilst intoxicated and high, but she felt this was the only way to clear her head. Refusing to look down, she grabbed the edge of the roof, which was only a couple of inches above her head, and pulled herself up, her arms in agony. Sighing relief when she was standing on the roof in one piece, Beca dusted off her jeans, and slowly sauntered over to the other side of the roof, looking down at the scene beneath her. Steam was rising from the back yard, the luminous blue light of the pool radiating in her vision. The _Pretty Girls_ mix that she approved was booming across the whole neighbourhood, and the two thousand people currently in her yard were banging their hands to it.

A sudden light across the sky caught her attention, and that's when she noticed the fireworks going off, undoubtedly the doing of an attendee at her party. She couldn't help but look on in absolute awe at what she and her friends had created. They did this.

"Holy shit." Beca turned around and smiled softly, seeing that Jesse and CR had decided to join her on the roof, and they too wandered over to stand alongside their friend, and looked on at everything below them.

People had evidently began to notice the host of the party's position on the roof, as they had began to chant ' _Mitchell, Mitchell!_ ', their drinks raised in the air, the volume of their voices increasing by the second. Beca laughed, raising her hand, eliciting another cheer from her guests.

Beca turned to Jesse on her spot by the edge of the roof, one side of her mouth quirked upwards in a dopey half smile. "Is this big enough to be cool?" she asked, before looking down at her backyard in disbelief.

Jesse just stood there, his mouth slowly beginning to form a grin as he stared at the scene below them, childlike wonder gleaming in his eyes. "Game changer."

A large, sudden gust of wind and a loud, unmistakable sound caught her attention, and her and her two friends looked upwards to see a spotlight shining down on them from above, the cold wind almost knocking Beca backwards, but she bent her knees slightly, rooting herself to the spot, holding her ground. The noise was almost deafening, but she couldn't stop staring at the helicopter there, above her house. "Shit, it's the news," CR commented, pointing upwards.

Beca felt herself being shaken by the shoulders, and she turned to look at Jesse in the eyes, his large and excited. "This is your fucking moment, man," he yelled, fighting to be heard over the roaring of the helicopter above them.

"You're right," she grinned, glancing up once again. The chanting from below had only gotten louder, which spurred Beca on to do something would never consider doing sober. Raising both arms, she proceeded to show the helicopter both of her middle fingers, lifting her arms impossibly high. The crowd below her was going wild, and Beca knew exactly what to do to spur them on. "Look at me now," she screamed, her arms still outstretched. "My party's the shit! My party is _legendary_!" The cheering from down below just kept going, which gave Beca an idea. She turned to Jesse, saying a quick "watch this", took a few, large steps backwards and, without thinking twice about it, tore across her roof and launched herself off the side, the air blowing in her hair, her arms spread out as far as she could, the whooshing feeling in her stomach making her feel slightly more nauseous than she already was. It wasn't long before the impact, the bouncy house deflating drastically below her. She threw her fists up in the air, celebrating as everyone clapped and cheered. Jesse's screams of her being a ' _crazy motherfucker_ ' could be heard three blocks away. This was what it was all about.

Suddenly, many pairs of arms were grabbing at her and pulling her backwards to her feet, and Beca was extremely thankful, as the ordeal with Chloe made Beca feel like downing half a bottle of Malibu, and she did, so she was a little less than steady on her feet. She stumbled off to the side, and waited patiently for Jesse and CR to make their way down. She watched amusedly as they peered down at the ground, before firmly shaking their heads and turning around, opting for the window instead.

"Dude," a voice from behind her called, and Beca turned to the stranger, smiling uncharacteristically at him. It was probably the booze, let's be real. She hated new people. The guy pointed over towards the pool house. "There are people fucking with your dad's car." Before she could react, the unmistakable roar of an engine blared, and it would be clear to anyone, no matter how drunk they were, what was about to happen. Beca moved in a flash, shoving her way through the people in her yard to the front. It was almost like slow motion, her eyes widening in horror as she was forced to witness her father's precious car jolt forward and dive head first into the pool, at probably fifty miles per hour. Beca couldn't even react, she just stood there, staring at the thing that would have her royally fucked, if the rest of the night wasn't bad enough.

"Shit." Jesse's voice from beside her offered no comfort. He turned to her, sympathy and desperation in his eyes. "Becs, I don't know how to fix this." He ran a hand anxiously through his hair, and Beca knew they were being stared at right now, but she couldn't take her eyes off Jesse and the car, her pupils darting back and forth between them as if she was watching a tennis match. The forlorn twinge in her eyes didn't go unnoticed by her friends, but before they could do anything, screaming and shouting erupted from the street.

Beca, Jesse and CR all shared a look before dashing towards the side gate, the rest of Beca's guests catching on that something wasn't quite right, following them. The first thing Beca noticed was orange. Orange and red. Everything before them was gleaming in those colours, spreading and getting darker and hotter by the second. She gasped, her fingers moving to her mouth as her and her friends simply stood there, marvelling in the scene before them. Every single tree on the street was up in flames, cars were going off everywhere and it was all their fault. Around fifty cops were on the scene, shoving the two hundred people on the street backwards with their glass shields, making them retreat towards the adjacent road. It was all so crazy; the heat from the fire was making its way over to Beca, not to mention the smoke, causing her to cough and splutter, as she staggered forward, trying to see in the mist of dull black and red. Her immediate thought was that it must have been the lit cigarette buds laying in her grass, and she felt her heart dropped to her stomach, guilt flooding her body. It was almost as if her stomach had turned to ice, and was smashed to pieces by a hammer. She couldn't comprehend the chaos happening around her; everyone was screaming, already half of her guests had sprinted off home and the other half were either too stunned to move, or being harassed by the police. Finally able to turn her body, she turned to Jesse and CR, who looked completely forlorn. "What do we do now?" she croaked, tears starting to well in her eyes.

Jesse's mouth opened, and then closed, and for once, he was utterly and completely speechless. "I… I don't know," he admitted, taking a deep breath and raising his hands to his head to rest there, his stress beginning to become evident in his body language. "I c-can't do anything, Becs. I told you I would keep everything under control and I couldn't. I'm so sorry."

Beca ignored him, and instead zoned out, the deafening screaming, shouting and sirens becoming background noise to her thoughts. Just before her knees could buckle from beneath her, Jesse's voice brought her to her attention. "Fuck! Fuck, fuck, fuck!" Beca's head snapped up to see Jesse's trembling finger pointing to the street just in front of them, and a figure in a bulky suit and large weapon emerged slowly, walking on top of the car roofs. The flame thrower in the person's hands was the size of Beca, and she looked on in horror as the man in the fire proof suit moved closer to them.

"That's Cyrus," he stated, his cheeks tear stained, his voice panicked and his clothes burnt from the sparks. Cyrus at that very second seemed to spot them, and before Beca could move an inch, he pointed the flame thrower in their direction, and in an instant Beca, Jesse and CR were sprinting to the back of the house, the feeling of the hot flame right on their tail. Beca wheezed and panted, her vision becoming spotted and blurry. She wasn't sure if she could stay conscious for much longer. Beca knew what she had to do; she grabbed Jesse's arm beside her with all of the strength she had in her, and placed all of her weight on him, letting him, with CR's aid, drag her to beside the pool house, and perched Beca up against it.

They could do nothing but stand there and watch with tired yet alarmed eyes as Beca's house became the new victim of the fire. The flames spread quickly, consuming the exterior of the building, before licking up into the inside, causing the heat radiating from it to become almost unbearable. The smoke rising from it was like nothing Beca had ever seen before, and before she knew it the air was barely breathable, the oxygen being sucked from it rapidly, panic growing from inside her.

The sound of more helicopters from above them thundered in her ears, and she looked up, quickly realising that they were not from the news. One of them quickly swooped over Beca's house, positioning itself directly above the centre, before the bottom of it opened. Suddenly, an extremely large volume of water dropped over the roof, washing out the outside, inside, yet not extinguishing the flames entirely. Beca wanted to just collapse to the floor, but before she could even blink, the water was headed straight for them, splashing them straight on, causing them to lose their balance. Beca cried out in pain as her body hit the ground, hissing at the way her hip crunched as she landed. The pain shot down throughout her entire leg, but she shook her head, raising herself up with her arms and scrambled to her feet, gasping for breath. She searched frantically for Jesse and CR. The pair both dragged themselves up and to their feet, before moving immediately to take shelter at the very back of the pool house, Beca sighing as her head fell backwards against the freezing wood.

She felt her eyes begin to flutter closed and her knees start to weaken, only half conscious and completely out of it, so much so that she barely registered hushed voices beside her, and the feeling of suddenly being hoisted up, with arms hooked under her legs, and the smell of Jesse's hair invading her nose as she ground moved beneath her at a great speed. She recognised the clap of more water hitting the house in the distance, before letting sleep consume her.

* * *

Beca sat on the cold metal beneath her, her head resting in her lap, blood rushing to her head. Her, Jesse and CR made it in one piece to the Barden High football pitch, where they were resting on the bleachers. Beca's eyes were closed, allowing the sound of silence consume her, bar the chatter from the benches below her, where the two security guards plotted their next move, making Beca roll her eyes under her resting eyelids. "At six, we go back to the house, and call in the team," one of them stated, sounding far too business like for a fourteen year old.

"What the fuck are you guys talking about?" Jesse muttered, making Beca look up with hooded eyes to see him sit up from his lying position across the bench beside CR, who lay with her hands behind her head, probably asleep. "It's five twenty in the morning. Go home and forget what happened."

The two boys reluctantly stood up and began to walk away, before one of them turned back around. "Where's our money?"

Jesse wasn't in the mood, which was clear from his tone. "The house is destroyed. You're the worst security ever. Get the fuck out of here and stop worrying your parents." They complied nervously, accepting Jesse's answer, before slowly walking down the steps and out of their sight.

CR seemed to have awoken from her slumber, as she raised her torso up, pushing herself up using her elbows, and shot Beca an anxious look. "You alright, Lil' B?"

Beca nodded slowly and wordlessly, her face void of emotion. She looked at her lap and sighed, resting her arms on her thighs and bending her back down, before glancing back up at her friends. "Some night."

"You might want to cover those hickies on your neck before you face the music and go home," Jesse mentioned nonchalantly. "One less reason for your parents to slaughter you."

"I think my sex life will be the last thing on their minds now." Beca turned away, unable to look them in eye. "What will happen now?" she whispered, her voice cracking. "My life is ruined."

Jesse shook his head, scooting closer to where the brunette was seated. " _Our_ lives are ruined." He reached his hand out and took Beca's, giving it a gentle, affectionate squeeze. "We're in this together, Becs. None of us are going down alone, you hear me?"

Beca gave him a thin-lipped smile, nodding her head. "I don't think I have ever been so grateful for you," she admitted, taking CR's hand in her other one.

CR smiled sadly at them, before standing to her feet shakily, with a grunt. "I better start heading home. To get punished and whatnot." She began to descend the stairs, throwing a ' _see you in prison_ ' over her shoulder, the other two watching her go.

Jesse looked at his friend guiltily. "Would you mind if I went home too? I think I might be a little bit dead, in more ways than one."

"Sure," Beca murmured. "I sort of… want to be alone, anyways." She looked up at him through her eyelashes. "Honestly, I'm fine. Go."

Jesse nodded, before letting a small grin take over his face. "What ever happens out of this, it was really one hell of a night."

"Yeah it was," Beca replied, smirking a little at the memories of the night before.

Jesse made his way over to the stairway, before looking back at her. "You'll be alright, Beca." Before she could reply, he was gone.

Beca let out a large exhale, relieved to be alone for the first time in a while. She didn't want to prolong the inevitable punishment, and possible arrest, that waited for her once she got home, but she just wanted to be on her own with her thoughts for just an hour. She looked out across the football pitch, her breath visible in front of her and her mind racing.

* * *

 _Monday_

Beca arrived outside Jesse's front gate, waving to him as he moved from where he was waiting on the step. "There's my crazy lil' midget," he laughed, throwing his arm around her shoulders. "How was your weekend? You didn't reply to any of my texts."

"Dad took my phone for the whole weekend," she replied, frowning as she shrugged Jesse away. They started walking in the direction of school, Beca dreading it with every step. "We had to move into a crummy little apartment while we wait for the damage to be fixed, which will take forever. My dad can't even look at me for more than two seconds and Sheila won't stop crying. I'm lucky I'm allowed out of the house to go to school." She sighed, her head drooping. "I feel like such a terrible person. I've caused all this destruction. We were lucky nobody was killed, Jesse."

Jesse shook his head fiercely. "No, Beca, you're wrong." He took a deep breath. "It was all on me. I wanted this large party, I invited all of those people, and most important _I_ stole those drugs, which did most of the damage." He looked at Beca, his expression uncharacteristically apologetic. "I'm so sorry, Becs. I forced this on you because I was being selfish."

"Don't think like that, dude. We can't turn back time. Plus, I enjoyed it." Beca paused, before cringing slightly. "In between all the disasters that happened during it."

Jesse jabbed a finger into Beca's neck, smiling slyly. "You gonna tell me who did all this?" he jeered, pointing at Beca's very badly concealed, yet already fading, hickies. "It looks like you have third degree burns on your neck."

"CR promised me she'd wait outside the main doors this morning and take me around the back to hide them," Beca told him, ignoring the question. "She has this special green shit that hides hickies really well."

"Was it Chloe who did it?"

Beca's heart clenched at hearing Chloe's name. She had thought about the redhead all weekend, unable to contact her, and almost glad because of that. She had never seen Chloe so furious before, and she wasn't sure if she would be any less angry after sleeping on it. She had every right to be mad, though, and Beca knew it. "Maybe one of them." At Jesse's baffled look, she continued reluctantly. "After I got with Chloe, I went upstairs with Stacie and we started doing stuff. I was just so high, Jess, I don't know what I was thinking. We would have probably gone all the way if Chloe hadn't burst in on us."

"Shit." Instead of being victorious once he heard about Beca's time with Stacie, Jesse's eyes widened nervously. "Was she mad?"

"You have no idea, dude." They walked onto the school campus, waving at CR, who they could see from a distance leaning against the wall beside the entrance. "She was just so upset. I care so much for her, Jesse, and I think I really fucked it up."

Jesse put a comforting hand on her back, smiling sadly. "I'm sure you didn't, Becs. You were drunk, and very much not thinking clearly. I'm sure once Chloe gets over the initial shock, she'll let you explain. Take your time." Beca was stunned at his words. She had never heard such sensible advice from her best friend. She was expecting something along the lines of ' _fuck her_ ' or, more likely, ' _now you can fuck Stacie, guilt free_ ', but she was actually agreeing with what he was saying.

Smiling softly at him, Beca walked up to CR, who cringed, cupping Beca's chin and tilting her head back, inspecting her neck. "Damn, Lil' B," she whistled. "Someone must have thought you were a fucking meal or something."

Beca rolled her eyes fondly, starting to walk through the entrance. "I just have to grab some stuff from my locker, and then we can sort this problem out." The other two shrugged and followed her, all three of them falling into step.

"How'd your parents react?" Jesse asked, looking over at CR.

CR shrugged. "I don't think they cared. They don't know what time I got home at 'cause they were asleep, so I told them I was home by one and missed all that commotion."

"Smart," Beca muttered. "My parents refuse to look in my direction."

CR nodded solemnly. "It'll be okay, Lil' B. Take it one day at a time." Beca opened her mouth to reply, but a small ' _hey, Jesse_ ' interrupted her, and the trio turned to see this girl Beca had never seen before in her life smiling at her friend. Suddenly, a few ' _hey, look, it_ _'_ _s Beca_ 's and _'_ _great party, Beca_ 's made its way to their ears, and Beca smiled a little, holding her hand up in a wave. Then, to Beca's surprise, the sound of a few voices chanting ' _Mitchell, Mitchell_ ' turned into everyone in the entire hallway stopping in the tracks and joining in. Beca, Jesse and CR just stood there and watched with large grins as everyone started shouting Beca's surname over and over, pumping their fists in the air. Beca laughed, not able to process what was currently happening, but the sight of red hair at the end of the corridor caught her eye and her smile dropped, their eyes suddenly locking. Beca didn't miss the sad, serious look on Chloe's face, but then Chloe disappeared out of her sight, around the corner, unable to watch Beca get applauded.

Beca was suddenly storming forwards, taking long strides, before those turning into sprints, determined to catch up to Chloe one final time. The cheering became distant as she rounded the corner, spotting Chloe jogging through an alleyway to the bleachers. Beca's picked up the speed, finally able to reach the redhead, who spun around once Beca placed a hand on her arm. This moment seemed all too familiar to both of them, the bad memory bringing a stinging sensation to Beca's heart. "Chloe," Beca hissed, releasing her arm. Once she saw Chloe wasn't attempting to move away, she relaxed slightly. "Can we talk now? Please?"

Chloe shrugged sadly, crossing her arms across her chest defensively, her mouth turning downwards. "I don't know what you can say right now, Beca."

Beca panted slightly, using this time to stop and think of the right words. She was fully sober now, so this must be easier, yet her mind drew a blank. She shook her head, deciding to wing it. "Look, Chlo. I don't know how I can explain my actions. I was extremely drunk, high and just… stupid, and I know that doesn't make it hurt any less but…" She paused, before finally gaining the courage to look into blue eyes, which were searching her own for any signs of dishonesty. "My life is a total mess right now, I've pretty much ruined it. I have trials coming up in January, we have no house, I'm grounded for the entire school year and I'll probably be in debt until I die… but all I could think about all weekend, was fixing this." She motioned in between her and Chloe, whose tiny smile had Beca continuing with more confidence. "Our relationship, whatever it is, means so much to me. If you just want to be friends after what happened, I'll be devastated, but I will understand and accept it. I need you in my life one way or another, Chloe."

Chloe sighed, a smile beginning to form on her face. "Did you get in a lot of trouble with your dad and Sheila?"

"Oh yeah."

"That makes me feel a little bit better." She moved closer to Beca shyly, who wrapped her arms around Chloe's waist. "You're a bit of an idiot, you know that, Mitchell?"

Beca chuckled, pulling Chloe impossibly close. "The word 'idiot' was pretty much the only word I heard out of my dad all weekend. That and 'fucked'." The redhead giggled, and Beca pushed their foreheads together, affectionately. "So, we're cool now?"

"I never said you were cool," Chloe teased, making Beca gasp in mock offence, before kissing her, light and chaste, yet tender. "But I could say that you were my girlfriend." She suddenly took on a nervous expression, her body tensing, obviously worried about Beca's response.

Beca beamed at her, calming her nerves a little. "Girlfriends sounds perfect." She kissed Chloe one more time, before pulling back and holding her hand out, bowing slightly. Chloe laughed at Beca's antics, curtseying and interlocking her fingers with Beca's. They walked back towards the main building to walk to class together, the never-ending chants of Beca's name nearing closer and closer to them.

* * *

 **Well? Thoughts?**

 **Follow me on twitter becamxtchell**

 **Let me know what you thought of it.**

 **Thanks, dudes!**


End file.
